House Unearths a 14th Forged Letter from a Lobbyist

By David A. Fahrenthold
Congressional investigators today said they have turned up a 14th forged letter that was sent to a Congressional office criticizing the House's climate change bill, this one appearing to come from an American Legion post in Rocky Mount, Va.

The letter, sent to the office of Rep. Tom Perriello (D-Va.), asks Perriello to "make sure the Waxman-Markey bill includes provisions to promote American energy independence, while protecting already cash-strapped constituents from increases in electricity prices." It concludes, "Thank you for listening to concerns of vets in your district."

But the letter actually appears to have been faked by a Washington lobbying firm working for the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity, a Congressional spokesman said today. The lobbying firm, Bonner and Associates, has conceded that an employee forged letters to three Congressional offices, including Perriello's, in the run-up to a vote on the climate bill. That employee has been fired, the firm said.

"We have confirmed [that the letter is fake] directly with the person whose name was forged," said Eben Burnham-Snyder, a spokesman for the House Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming, which is investigating the forgeries. The committee is chaired by Rep. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), who along with Rep. Henry A. Waxman (D-Calif.), sponsored the bill. It passed the House in June, with Perriello voting yes.

Lisa Camooso Miller, a spokeswoman for the coal group, said that it had brought the letter to the committee's attention in the first place, after an internal investigation could not confirm it was legitimate. But she said the group is still not certain the letter is fake, even after talking to the person whose signature is on it.

"At the end of that conversation, it was unclear whether the letter was in fact false," Miller said. She reiterated that the coal group finds the forgeries "inexcusable."

"This type of misrepresentation has no place in any policy debate," Miller said.
A message left for an official with the Rocky Mount American Legion Post, Charles Santrock, was not immediately returned.

To my mind the revelations regarding the forged letters speaks volumes about the influence and tactics of lobbyists in the pursuit of the goals of their clients. Especially with regard to the "Clean Coal" industry these tactics lend more creedence to the idea that the fallacy of clean coal can't win on its merits but require subterfuge and dishonesty to prevail. When will the Supreme Court acknowledge the inherent inequality that stems from the idea that corporations are the same as individual citizens with respect to "free speech" and access to the legislative process?

This is only the tip of the Iceberg... I know a guy that worked for Bonner & Associates for 10 years as Director of their IT Department. All I can say is put on your seat belts, the ugly TRUTH about Bonner & Associates' shady business practices will come to light very, very soon.

Better still, if you want a real laugh go to www.hawthorngroup.com/NewsReleases/8.3.09news_release.html

The gang that created this bogus front group (which they have been pushing and funding since 2000) and unleashed Bonner et al now is all innocence and bliss - since they have finally gotten caught.

"nothing like this has happened in our 17 years in business" really means we haven't gotten caught until now! "Oh, we were so appalled when we realized what we, oops I mean, they, had done, that we were too shocked to actually follow up and see if they had alerted the congressional offices that the letters were fake until it was made clear in the media that they had not."

Jeez, Louise, talk about the farm leagues!
"The Not Ready for Prime Time Players presents..."!
"Green Acres is the place for me..."

"...Then allow the Mainstream Media to file bankruptcy and fold up shop instead of continuing to use them as propaganda mouth-pieces"
Posted by: indep2
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That puts FOX at the top of the closure list.